i am a new user to linux using ubuntu 8.04. i have compaq 505tu notebook which has broadcam wireless chip(Broadcam wireless 802.11b/g ). going thru the forums i came to know i must install " ndiswrapper " for wireless to work, it exactly asked to provide file "bcmwl5.inf" in the windows wireless driver to install broadcam driver i did, but then it displayed that firmware is not available . the b43-fwcutter which installs firmware also needs internet(as i have seen in most of the commands in the forums)to install it in the /lib/firmware location, and copying a file in /lib or /home is also not allowing ,it states "u dont have permission" sort of stuff.what should i do please help me.
isnt there a way to download a stuff and manually install it because the connection i can make is from another computer and i will b on air only if net works on ubuntu 8.04 n my notebook.
PLEASE HELP ME OUT .

Broadcom, surely?

You need to be specific - that error suggests you did not put the right files in the right place. You have said that you "provided" the inf file ... how did you do this?

If you are getting permission errors, you need to use sudo with the commands.

Yes, you can visit the repo site in your othre machine and download the deb file you need, transfer to the ubuntu machine, and install with dpkg. However, a much more effective way is to use your ethernet connection at an internet cafe (or some such) and aptitude. Lots of people do there initial configuration this way. You don't have to do this alone.

What can help is if you put your distro and some sort of useful location in your profile. It also helps if you take some care to type out entire words when you post.

all things r right, the error only suggests that firmware is needed for the broadcam driver, the b43-fwcutter i downloaded, i extracted and executed with this:
the message i got was:

That 'wget' line attempts to fetch a file from the internet, so it will fail on your computer until you get the network going. Also you should use 'wget -c -H' unless you want a huge nest of directories when a single file is fetched.

Since you have Ubuntu, you should be able to get a copy of fwcutter from Debian and install it. There is a chance it's already on your Ubuntu disc and you can install it from there:

apt-cache search fwcutter

If a package shows up, like:
bcm43xx-fwcutter

Then install it using your favorite package manager, or with apt-get:
apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter

The install failed on that first step:
What does that last line say?

As pinniped says, you need a network connection to use wget. The howto you are following assumes a dialup or wired connection is present.

Best bet is to borrow or rent one (a friend or an internet cafe). Then you can use apt-get or aptitude.

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter


The page:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/b43-fwcutter
... is the download page for b43-fwcutter for Ubuntu 8.04

as u all said i tried the same process and tried a wired connection to install the b43-fwcutter to install the firmware. and also tried to update the system and install some codecs for video and audio files. but to my ultimate frustration nothing was happening. on the web browser(Mozilla) i cud open the web pages but attempt to install firmware or other updates gave following errors:
i tried for hardware testing, every thing except the wireless driver were right, after building the error report, it mentioned"error report cant be submitted and the ubuntu i am using is not genuine."
Now,do u all have any answer, please find one.

Please quote the exact "Ubuntu not genuine" error.
Please add your distro to your profile.
Please follow advise given - vis: once an internet connection has been obtained - use apt-get or aptitude (you continued to use wget). Also - when you get error messages - do read them for clues.

Did you see the IP in the error messages?What couldn't it connect to???

127.0.0.1 is on your computer - so wget has not been able to leave the building!
Check your proxy settings. (System->Preferences->Proxy)

Note also: some of those directories/files you list do not exist, so you'll get 404 error if you ever got out of your system anyway.


Tip: in future - try googling the error message. It can be a bit of a trick to figure which part to google... in above case, your search term is: "(127.0.0.1). - connect (111 Connection refused)". This contains the important information, vis: where it was trying to connect, and why it failed.

u were right, ichecked the proxy settings and it had "IP address 127.0.0.1" and"Port: 4001" and i included this in the ignore list and within a few seconds i was connected to net. But one thing i did not get was that, those were the proxy settings i had done in xp( which is in dual boot) i dont know how those settings were transfered to ubuntu.
anyhow, thanks to all who took the pain to write me the suggestions and advices.
Thank You.

When you installed Ubuntu, it transferred the settings over.